Device for discharging liquids from



Feb. 14, 1956 K. H. FLAMM 2,734,665

DEVICE FOR DISCHARGING LIQUIDS FROM RECEPTACLES Filed Nov. 1. 1951 5M F2.6 A! 22 I IN VEN TOR.

OR/VE? United States Patentf) DEVICE FOR DISCHARGINGILIQUIDS FROMRECEPTACLES Karl Hugo Flamm, Hesse, Germany, assignor toCharles Blue,Mineola, N. Y.

Application November 1, 1951, Serial No. 254,285

4 Claims. (Cl. 222-207) This invention relates to .a device fordischarging liquids from receptacles.

This application is an improvementofmy pending application, Serial No.185,550, filed September 19, 1950, now Patent No. 2,706,582 datedApril19, 1955, and relating to a pneumatic liquid dispenser.

It is an object of the present invention to provide .a device fordischarging liquids from receptacles by the simple squeezing of thenipple part of the device that has a nozzle formation associatedtherewith and wherein the opening in the formation or the nipple part istapered to a slight extent so that with the tapered opening having itssmall end in the nipple part, drops will be. dispensed and wherein ifthe portion is so: connected to the nipple part that the large end'ofthe tapered opening is within the nipple part, a spray will be effected.

It is another object of the invention to provide a device fordischarging liquids from-receptacles which will serve as a closure forthe open end of: the receptacle to keep the receptacle closed at alltimes and which will also serve as a medicine dropper so -that:perfectlyforrned drops can bedispensed' directly from the deviceand without thedevice havingtolbe: removed-from the: receptacle whereby to eliminate.the possibility of the. contents of the receptacle being spilled.upon-"the 'receptacle" being upset.

It is another objectof theinvention to r provide a device adapted tobeattachedvtozarreceptacle. orabottle which contains the liquidrtobeidispensed a-nd'whichis so constructed. that by a .simple.:squeezing.-operation :air current and equal size. drops willf .be. dispensedrfrom:the receptacle in a manner such that these. dropscan' :be easily andcorrectly counted and :whereby= two bands will not be required todispense the.:dr.o.ps, as.=in;the :casenof a bottle in which thereuisadetachable-medicine dropper and wherein the drops can"be.iguidedbetterzandwith the ordinary medicine dropper. by; virtue :ofxthefact that the bottle is held. in. theone :handandfirmly:andmotby a bulbpart on theonegendpofealong :glass tube,;as-. in the case of amedicinezdroppertwhen.it, iszused.

It is another object of:the inventionto,:provide;in.-a liquid dispensingdevice :adapted for :lattachment .to a receptacle and more particularlyto. the -nozzle -part;thereof which is connected to the nipplepart andwhichhas a tapered opening, the ;nozzle; partisoifashionedi that thetapered opening canbe arrangedzso: thatits :small :end; is within thenipple-partoreby a;mererreversal::offltheasame, the large end canbe-inthe: nipplezpart wherebylhejdevice can be adapted to dischargeeither-.dropsqor. a:spray;and whereby the nozzle .part;-is:so :formed as:;=to:.receive ;a cover with a member having the-ltapered opening Ebeingin either position.

Other objects of the present invention fiI'C-lOHPI'OVidfi a device foreflecting the "discharge :ofliquid 'from-receptacles which-enablesone-tohold theebottle'at all times in the hand when discharging-liquidand with t-he above objects in mind, whichis"of:simple-construction,easy to operate with a single -hand,inexpensive -to--manufac- ICE :ture, has a minimum number of parts,compact, preserves the sterility of the contents of the receptacle orbottle, sanitary and easy to clean, durable vandhas long life, andefiicient in operation.

For other objects andfor a better'understanding-of the invention,reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in.connection with the; accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a bottle having the'device fordispensing the liquid therein attached thereto;

Fig. 2 is anenlarged vertical sectional view of the device and of theupper end of the bottle;

Fig. 3 is an illustrative side elevational viewofthe bottle being heldin the hand and operated to dispense the liquid drops;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of, the device and of the nozzlearranged to dispense uniform dropsof the liquid and lying in thedispensing position;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the dispensingdevice arranged with the large end of the tapered opening lying in thenipple, part so that instead of drops being dispensed, a spray will bedispensed;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of a modified form of the inventionhaving a reversible nozzlemember, whereby the device can readily be madeadaptable \to. either, effect the dispensing of drops when in one posi-'.tion or .of a spray when in the other position;

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view of a still further form of theinvention wherein all portions of the device are formed of one integralpiece.

,Referring now particularly to Figs. 1 to 4, 10 represents .areceptacle, such as a bottle, which has a threaded neckportion 11 and anannular shoulder 12 lying below the threads 13. The device, as indicatedgenerally at 14,

embodying the features of the present invention, is adapted forsecurernent to the threaded neck portion 11 of the bottle 10. Thisdevice comprises a conical shape nipple-like member of flexiblematerial, as indicated at 15, which has an outwardly extending bottomflange 16 and an inwardly extending top portion 17 having a hole 18therein. By means of -a rigid coupling member 19,

- the flexible member 15 is attached by its flange 16 to the threadedend of the bottle. This rigid coupling member .19 has a radiallyinwardly extending flange 21 on its upper end thereof which overlies theflange 16 of the conical shaped flexible member 15 and the flange 16 isbrought into tight sealing engagement with the end of the neck portion11 as the coupling member 19 is tightened downwardly over the threads ofthe threaded portion 13 of the bottle. The coupling member 19 may cometo rest immediately above the annular shoulder 12 on the neck portion11. The coupling member 19 is serrated as indicated at 19 to provide agood grip upon the coupling member being tightened upon or loosened fromthe neck portion of the bottle.

Extending through the hole 18 in the top portion 17 of the flexiblemember 15 is a small nozzle of plastic or other rigid material asindicated at 22. This nozzle is held against outward displacement fromthe top portion 17 by a flange 23 units lower end.

threads 24 to effect the securement thereto of an internally threadedcap 25 when the discharging 'device is not .in use and the contents ofthe bottle is. to be retained in a millimeter in diameter and at itsouter end as indicated at 26" about three millimeters in diameter. theopening at 26' is accordingly such thatvery little The size of It also.has

liquid can, if any, be lost and thus to effect a flow of such liquidcompressing or squeezing of the flexible member 15 must be effected tostart the liquid through this small end 26 of the tapered opening 2%.Within this opening 26, the liquid will naturally adhere by friction andwhen the liquid has become sufficiently great in quantity and weight, itwill quickly leave the opening in the form of a drop, as shown in Fig.4, at 27. The size of the drop will depend upon the specific gravity ofthe liquid and its adhering characteristic upon the inner wall surfaceof the tapered opening 26. It will also depend upon the viscosity of theliquid being dispensed. The drops will always be uniform and will becontrolled by the amount of squeeze on the flexible member 15.

As the bottle is upturned as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the air in thebottle will collect in the upturned bottom end thereof and by asqueezing action of the flexible member 15 this air will be compressedsufliciently enough to exert pressure upon the liquid and to cause it tostart through the small end 26' of the opening 26. Once this flow hasbeen started, the continuation thereof will take place until the air hasbecome stabilized. if further drops are desired, the flexible memberwill again be squeezed.

It will be seen that the bottle is held firmly in the one hand whilethis is being efiected. it is not necessary to remove any part from thedevice other than the cap 25 and the drops can accordingly be easilyguided to their point of application. It is well known that the medicinedropper is difiicult to handle by means of its flexible bulb in order toaim the end of the dropper upon the location where the liquid drops areto be dispensed.

Referring now particularly to Fig. 5, wherein a nozzle 23 is providedwith a tapered opening 29 of the same shape and having the ends of thesame diameter as the opening 2.6 in the nozzle 22, but with the largeend of the opening as indicated at 28' being within the nipple, orflexible member 30 while the small end is on the outer end of the nozzleas indicated at 23". Thus, by the same squeezing action of the flexiblemember 15, a spray as indicated at 39 will be projected.

In Fig. 6, there is shown a still further form of the invention whereinthe nozzle means is formed of two parts 34 and 33, which can be coupledtogether in a manner to effect either atomizing action, when connectedtogether in one way, or when connected together in another way to effectthe dispensing of drops. The part 33 has a flange 35 and internal andexternal threads 36 and 37. Adapted to lit the part 35 and the thread 36is a threaded shank 38 extending from an intermediate portion 39 of thepart 34 and on opposite side of intermediate portion 39 is a threadedshank 4%. Either one of these threaded shanks will fit the interior ofthe part 33.

A tapered opening of the same dimension as above described extendsthrough the part 34. This tapered opening is indicated at 41 and has asmall port it at one end and large port 41" at the other end. it will beunderstood that this part 34 can be used either one way or the other bysimply threading the different shank portions 38 and it} into the part33. The part 33 is secured to flexible member 15 and more particularlyto the top portion 17 thereof by extending through opening 13 in the topportion. The external thread of the member 33 can be used to secure cap25' over the nozzle means. Whenever these devices are used, the cap 25is always removed. The small hole in the nozzle will prevent any leakageshould the bottle become inverted when the cap 25 has been removed. Noappreciable amount of leakage can be eflected through the small end ofthe tapered opening. The cap 25 has sealing engagement with the topportion 17 of the flexible member 15 and will, when the bottle is not inuse, prevent positively any leakage.

In Fig. 7, there is shown a modified form of the invention wherein allportions of the device are included in one integral piece. It will beunderstood by making the device of one piece that the saline action canbe effected. The main body portion 42 is formed of a flexible materialwhich is more thin and more flexible than an attaching portion 43 havinga rib 44 extending about the same and serving as a stop shoulder for thesecurement of the device to the open upper end 45 of a bottle.

Extending upwardlyfrom the body portion 42 is a nozzle portion 46 havinga relatively more thick wall than the body portion wall and a taperedopening 47 small at its lower end as indicated at 48 and large at itsupper end as indicated at 49. Just below the small opening 48 is aflared mouth surface St) for receiving and directing the liquid to thesmall end 48 of the tapered opening 47. By having the nozzle wall beingthick, the shape of the tapered opening therein will be retained whilethe squeezing action is eifected upon the relatively more thin wall ofthe main body 42. This device can be formed of rubber, but it will beunderstood that it may also be formed of plastic of a variety thatreturns to its riginal shape after being squeezed and released. Theoperation of this nozzle device, shown in Fig. 7, is the same as withthe other devices previously described.

It should now be apparent that there has been provided a dispensingdevice for bottles which can be operated by the same hand that lifts thebottle and whereby upon a simple squeezing of the nipple part a uniformdrop may be dispensed or a spray can be effected depending upon thelocation of the small end of the tapered opening of the nozzle means. itwill also be seen that this device is of simple construction,inexpensive to manufacture, and that at all times the contents of thebottle can be easily kept clean and sterile and that there is littlechance of loss of the liquid upon the bottle being turned or upset.

While various changes may be made in the detailed construction, it shallbe understood that such changes shall be within the spirit and scope ofthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for dispensing liquid from a receptacle comprising a hollowmember of flexible material adapted to be squeezed, means for connectingthe hollow member to a receptacle so that the hollow member may projecttherefrom and be in communication with the interior thereof, said hollowmember having a small hole therein, a relatively rigid nozzle having aflange on its inner end and a shank extending through the small hole ofthe hollow member and the opening within the nozzle being of uniformlytapered formation having its small end communicating with the hollowmember and on the flanged end of the nozzle.

2. A device for dispensing liquid from a receptacle one drop at a timeas defined in claim 1, and the shank portion of said nozzle havingthreads thereon and a cap adapted to extend over the shank of the nozzleand engaging with said threads and adapted to be tightened upon thehollow flexible member to effect sealing engagement of the nozzle withthe hollow member.

3. A device for dispensing liquid from a receptacle, comprising a hollowflexible member adapted to be squeezed and adapted for connection with areceptacle, said hollow member having a small hole extending through thewall thereof, nozzle means extending through the small hole in the walland comprising an attaching member and a member having a tapered openingtherein, said latter member having an intermediate portion and twothreaded shank portions, the tapered opening extending from one end ofsaid member to the other and through both of the shank portions and theintermediate portion, said attaching member for the nozzle means beingthreaded to receive the shank portions of the member having the taperedopening therein, one shank portion, at a time, whereby the member havingthe tapered opening therein can be inverted to dispense liquid either adrop at a time or with spraying action.

4. A device for dispensing liquid from a receptacle as defined in claim3 and said attaching member having external threads and a flange, saidflange engaging with the inner wall of the hollow member and aninternally threaded cap operable upon the threads of the attachingmember to sealingly hold the hollow member upon the flange and tothereby prevent leakage of liquid from the nozzle means when thereceptacle is not in use.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSHenderson Apr. 9, 1895 Abel July 11, 1939 Oakes Nov. 28, 1950 DemarcoJune 17, 1952

